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You are here: Home / Archives for yoga for boys

yoga for boys

Teaching Yoga to Boys

What happens when you are used to teaching one age group, then get a class with a whole new demographic?

I got a letter about this from Jeri Cresson, a Graduate of our 95 Hour Training. In it, she shares what happened when she taught her first group of boys.

Dear Young Yoga Masters,

Over the past few years, since my training at Young Yoga Masters, I have been working exclusively with the preschool age group. I’ve used your methods, frog yoga cards, themes, and games to develop an effective and engaging program at our Dojo.

We’ve created structure and focus to the practice of our littlest ones, helping them become quiet and still. They learned to alternate, at will, between wild playful abandon to quiet stillness, cooperation, focus, and attention. They began recognizing cues for when each was most appropriate.

It is sacred, glorious PLAY!

Learning to Teach Kids Yoga to a New Age Demographic

the cover of the inclusive yoga module of the kids yoga teacher training shows a superhero male yogi on a rocketship doing the cobra ygoa pose
The Inclusive Yoga manual cover.

However, I found myself with the opportunity to use my training with a new group of boys, in the 7-9 age group. I was afraid that I might not be able to transition from the younger age group to this one. I didn’t need to worry, as it turned out.

I cracked open the Inclusive Yoga manual and tried the Yoga Man vs. The Stressor activities. The Universal truths contained within them just flowed naturally – and suddenly, the sun salutation that started as rote memorization turned into a meaningful sequence.

The “why” dawned on me, as I was (with trepidation and anxiety) pouring over the what and how.

It was triggered when I reviewed how to introduce the breath – breathing in the Big Me, breathing out the Little Me. And I mentally added to help me realize: Breathing out the little ol’ me.

Deepening My Understanding of the Breath

I realized these 4 parts of breath:

  1. Observing Stillness, in intentional solitude and contemplation, is a normal, still, but a conscious breath,
  2. The Breathing in of Prana -the secret power of everything – that which is infinite and Universal,
  3. The breathing out of the little me – is what I can personally choose to do to take action with the energy and power that I have been given,
  4. and finally, a silent contemplative suspension of breath, feeling, experiencing gratitude, and taking inventory during rest before beginning the entire cycle over again.
a kids yoga teacher uses her whole body to demonstrate yoga breathing, with her fingers beside her nose to give kids a visual cue to breathe through the nose
Breathe in the Big Me, Breathe out the Little Me: Use your fingers beside your nose to help the visual learners remember to breathe through the nose.

From an Ordinary Person to a Hero!

“I realized that Yoga Man was once, just an ordinary person, just like me. But he learned how to harness the power of breath…”

I realized that Yoga Man was once, just an ordinary person, just like me. But he learned how to harness the power of breath, intention, focus, action, rest and reflection to outwit and outmaneuver The Stressor at every turn!

Each day he trained with this secret weapon so his powers grew. He became so strong he could leap over obstacles, dodge danger, and even rescue others – almost effortlessly.

In class we reviewed the yoga sequence, practiced with breath, and used the Yoga Man stories about the secret powers he can use when confronted with problems and challenges. Then we played a game of throwing stars.

Taking an Intentional Breath for Focus

a yoga superhero doing yoga cobra pose to help boys like yoga using images they enjoy
Yoga Man – the Yoga Super Hero doing cobra pose

Without any cues or prompting I noticed students stopping to take aim, taking an intentional breath, and then exhaling automatically with the exertion of their throw. When they did this, they were more accurate and more powerful.

Then they realized how much the breath helped.

It was magical. They were genuinely filled with glee, realizing that they, like Yoga Man, could harness the secret weapon of Breath.

Class ended with an age-appropriate, short savasana, then they joked around, touselling each other, as boys will do, each talking excitedly about how they were going to try out some “Breath Power” on something or another.

And their moms, clad in their own yoga clothing smiled, knowingly, checking that one task, “Get my boy to settle down and breathe” off the list.

Best,

Jeri Creson

Program Director – The Dojo Covington
Covington, LA, USA

New Orleans Kids Yoga Teacher Graduating Class of 2017
Jerri (2nd from right) graduated from the 95 Hour Training in 2017

Try the Sun Salutation for Boys

Yoga Man uses breath to stay calm when facing The Stressor.  I created The Yoga Man Training download  and added it to the Inclusive Yoga Module because too many boys, including my three nephews, thought yoga was something their mom’s do.

Getting boys involved took some thought to get boys to participate. I even got two of my nephews to be my models in this video. The other nephew did the original drawings that eventually got digitized in Yoga Man!

Yoga Man does the Sun Salutation.

We are at Kilbear Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada.

 

Check your volume and press play to bring yoga to your children!

Filed Under: Classroom Management, Kids Yoga, Resources Tagged With: kids yoga teacher training, sun salutation, yoga for boys

Inclusive Yoga – 3 Ways to Create an Inclusive Lesson Plan

At Young Yoga Masters, we’re heading into the Inclusive Yoga Kids Yoga Teacher training and preparing interesting supplies like ribbons, stickers and foam noodles. Whenever I see these fun props gathered in front of me, I’m reminded of the many ways to engage children with wise planning of activities and lesson plans.

a class picture of graduates from the kids yoga teacher training in Toronto Canada
Class Picture of Kids Yoga Teacher Training

In the Inclusive Yoga training you’ll learn to create Lesson Plan Case Studies to include children with special needs that may come to your classes. Here are three tips from our training that could make your classes a little more inclusive so everyone gets to play at yoga!

If you’d like to get formal training – please follow the link here and check out our early bird savings for the upcoming courses in Toronto and Burlington (Canada).

Not Disability – Different Abilities

Here’s what we did in our practicum Training when a girl with Cerebral Palsy attended.  She used a walker/seat to support her and standing up and sitting down took her longer, was tiring and made it hard for her to keep up with the rest of the children.

As often happens we didn’t know she was going to be there until we got to the class.  But we had 5 more classes to go so we did a case study of her needs and our lesson plans for future classes so she could participate fully. Here’s one example.

We typically play a mindfulness listening game using a variety of bells with the kids sitting on the floor, closing their eyes and listening to identify which bell is being rung.  For this activity our first thought was to put out a chair so our friend could sit in a chair while we played.

But as we thought it through we could see how she would still feel separated from the group this way – she would be the only one sitting in the chair. There was no reason this activity had to take place on the yoga mats.

So we changed our plan to move the whole activity to a table and had everyone sitting in chairs.

The activity was set up before everyone arrived and ran smoothly, not one child ever thought that a special allowance had been made because of the chairs.  They all just noticed how much fun they had.

This is just one way that you can plan your lesson for a particular child with a walker or chair, and keep it fun by moving everyone into chairs.

You can see how activities are equally fun no matter how you play them in this video:

 

Routines within the Yoga Class

Routines:  Helpful for All, Essential for Some

When I talk about setting up routines in a yoga class, I liken it to TV show credits.  As a kid, I remember watching the Brady Bunch till the very last note of the closing song was sung.  Those opening and closing songs helped me emotionally process that my favourite show was starting, then finishing. The routine helped!

Routines within a class are helpful for all and essential for some.  They reduce stress because they provide predictability and reassurance throughout your yoga time. Adding routines can help your classes run smoother.  Here are a few place routines can be used:

  • an opening song (see the Hello Song I use in my preschool classes below)
  • routinely doing 3 yoga breaths during or after a pose
  • a routine to celebrate completing a pose or activity
  • a closing transition or song

Don’t forget that for routines to work they should be the same every class!

What routines do you follow without fail in every class?  If you don’t have any, it may help to get some.

Representative Yoga – Use Props that Are Inclusive

a yoga superhero doing yoga cobra pose to help boys like yoga using images they enjoy
Yoga Man – the Yoga Super Hero

I created Yoga Man vs. The Stressor in 2009 because it was hard to find yoga materials that appealed to the older boys I taught.  There were plenty of images of animals, fairies, and happy endings.  But where were the action heroes that many of my students wanted to see?

When I developed the Frog Yoga Alphabet, I chose frogs to do the poses rather than children so that everyone could relate to the images.

And the strategic use of props can get more children engaged, like the way bubbles help everyone figure out yoga breathing.

Fortunately there are more inclusive resources available now. I would like to update the Yoga for Boys video I made to include more boys, not just my nephews.  I’d like to include images of children wearing a head coverings or using walkers doing yoga!

Out of convenience groups can get overlooked and you can feel like you don’t exist when you never see yourself represented.  So teachers need to think about whether everyone is represented in the images they use in yoga class too.

Here’s our yoga for boys video that needs an update, the boys in this video are young men now so we are ready for new kids to fill our video:

Yoga Man does the sun salutation on colouring pages that kids can colour in the way they like.

If you find that your boys are not engaged in your yoga classes, I recommend learning more about Boy Culture from this article.

What are Your Favourite Strategies to Create an Inclusive Yoga Lesson Plan?

These are just a few of the many ways you can create an Inclusive Yoga Lesson plan. To go over them all we would need a whole weekend and that takes place in the Inclusive Yoga Kids Yoga Teacher Certification.

 

Filed Under: Kids Yoga, Lesson Plans Tagged With: inclusive yoga, lesson plans, stress management, sun salutation, yoga for boys, yoga for special needs

New Kids Yoga Printable for the Movember Generation

There’s nothing like a soft silky mustache to make snuggling with your man special.  Since Movember is November Mustache month its a good month for a special gift for you to help raise awareness of mens health.

Click Here to download the new Movember Yoga Colouring Page.

Here’s what it looks like:

Movember Lunge

Yoga Man, the yoga superhero cartoon, is doing the yoga lunge and it looks great with his great Movember mustache.

Movember Triangle

The cartoon frog is doing Triangle Yoga pose with a big black mustache under his nose.

For the month of November, Young Yoga Masters is donating a percentage of all sales of Yoga Man to Movember!

If you haven’t heard, there’s a new hero in town named Yoga Man. He fights the evil villain The Stressor, a nasty nemesis who tries to chip away at Yoga Man’s health in so many sneaky ways. But Yoga Man has special tools in his arsenal that help keep The Stressor at bay. That’s what the Yoga Man vs. The Stressor training is all about.

Yoga Man vs. The Stressor Kids Yoga Teacher Training Download

Yoga Man the superhero is part of the Young Yoga Masters teacher training.If you’ve been considering new resources for your kids yoga, there’s no better time than now to introduce Yoga Man to your kid and support men’s health.

Or if you prefer you can donate any amount, no amount is too small, directly to the cause here:  mosista.co/YoungYogaMasters

Kids yoga teachers and anyone who wants to promote health for boys, who will one day become men, are encouraged to step up and join the fundraising team or purchase the Yoga Man download to support the cause.

Yoga is a great tool for men’s and boys health but if you’ve known someone who has suffered from cancer, you want to have help from all sides.

Let’s create a positive change this November.  You can help too.

Please leave a comment below. Tell us which man you want to give a Movember poster to, to show you care and remind them to take care of their health.

This one’s for you Dad : )

Upcoming Events

Become a Certified Kids Yoga Teacher

I encourage anyone with an interest in inspiring yourself to live big, and share that passion with the next generation to consider signing up for the upcoming weekend certificates or the full 95 hour Yoga Alliance Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher Certification.

Here is the link to the dates an info. I’m sure you will feel uplifted by the experience and carry this fire of inspiration to those you meet.

Filed Under: Free Print and Play, Kids Yoga, Lesson Plans, Resources, Teacher Training Tagged With: coloring, Movember, yoga for boys

Be Clear on What You Want in Kids Yoga Training

This guest post is by Bekah Starr of Sproutin’ Yoga.  She explains why she registered for our training this weekend even though she’s been teaching kids for five years.  She also gives you two new classroom management tips and shares the challenges she still experiences as a teacher (and she’s not alone!).

It’s not as easy as it seems to get kids on their yoga mats.

Be Clear on What You Want in Kids Yoga Training

by Bekah Starr, Kids Yoga Teacher

Even though I’m trained as a Hatha/ Vinyasa yoga teacher for adults, I’ve been teaching kids yoga for about 5 years now instead.  Why? I find it to be lighter, less serious, more fun!

The joy and excitement that kids bring to everything lights me up everyday and I feel truly blessed to offer the teachings of yoga to kids in “kid sized” portions.

I also have to admit; I understand yoga and the philosophies of yoga much more since I’ve been teaching kids. Somehow breaking down the concepts for kids makes it easier for me to understand too. Maybe it doesn’t have to be so complicated after all…

Challenge: Kids Off their Mats and Running Around

Don’t get me wrong; teaching kids also has its challenges. Children can be much less forgiving than adults.  If I don’t plan well and keep them interested they get bored VERY easily.  And once they’re gone, they’re gone. They’re off running around the studio, playing tag and such, even though there is a rule to “stay on your mat.”

While it is nice to keep it simple, less complicated, and less serious then you might with adults, the rules can get lost with all the innovation and creativity.

So this weekend I’m excited to be traveling from Buffalo, USA to Toronto, Canada for the Young Yoga Masters Kids Yoga Teacher Training.

I want Training for New Games and Classroom Management Tips

I’m making the weekend investment because I gotta find lots of creative ways to impart new ideas and concepts.  My hope is that at the Young Yoga Masters weekend I’ll learn some new ways to share yoga with kids, new games and fun ways to teach. And to discover how to keep the children on their mats!  Is that possible? J

One thing I use now that works well is breath.  Doesn’t that work for you too? Take a deep breath.  It’s universal, it really is.  I use breathing a lot in my classes and it seem to work well, especially when I have the kids make wind with their breath.  Sometimes I use books to illustrate a theme in class and I have them stay focused by making wind with their breath and blowing the next page open.

A Handy Tool I Use Now for Classroom Management

Let’s take for example my 3-4 year old classes, I teach 3 of these a week.  This past week particularly has been a hard week to follow the “stay on your mat” rule.  It’s warm and sunny out, I get it, they want to run outside, like little wild animals.  Which can be really cute, if they would just stay on their mats for a few minutes so I can teach a few poses.

I have one little boy in particular who likes to lead the others around.  He happens to be the oldest, so the others follow quite readily.  He also happens to be the most rambunctious.

Responsible Kids Make a Calm Kids Yoga Class

In the beginning, these two qualities added up to a lot of frustration for me.  Now, I’ve given him an important job.  I’ve made him responsible for leading us in a deep breath between each pose.

We learn a new pose, move around in it and feel how our bodies can make lots of shapes.  Then when it’s time to focus again I ask this little boy to lead us in a deep breath.

It’s hard to move around and lead a deep focused breath at the same time for a 4 1/2 year old. He’s got to stand still to do it, so the other children follow him and stand still as well.  It’s centering and calming for everyone and I can teach whatever I need to.

I invite you to try this too.  When your feeling a bit out of sorts refocus yourself with a deep breath.  Teach it to others too, it’ll change your world!

Watch for my follow-up blog, coming after the training where I share my experience of the course and how the tools worked with my rambunctious kids.

Bekah Starr
Sproutin’ Yoga
.
P.S.  What do you look for in professional development or training that you take?  Please leave a comment.

Filed Under: Co-Operation, Kids Yoga, Teacher Training, Yoga Games Tagged With: breath, classroom management, kids yoga teacher training, yoga for boys

What’s Boy Culture? What it Means for Yoga for Boys

The other day in one of my kids yoga classes I was teaching a yoga exercise similar to a Martial Arts punch.  For this exercise you hold your body in place and then punch each arm with a powerful “HAAA” breath.  Joining in, the daycare teacher joked that this is the only time kids will get to do a punch move at school!

The teacher was joking, but there was more than a grain of truth to it. Many schools and homes have adopted a Zero Tolerance policy to quell violence and level the playing field between boys and girls. But have we gone too far?  Have we developed a negative attitude toward boy culture?

yoga for boys kids
Yoga Man Yoga for Boys Activity

After discovering our Yoga Man – Yoga for Boys product, marketing expert Tia Dobi forwarded me a TED Talk that examines boy culture and the growing problems boys are facing in school.

Re-Engage Boys in Learning
The talk by Ali Carr-Chellman: Gaming to Re-Engage Boys in Learning emphasizes the problems for boys these days. Boys are tuning out of school and tuning into what gives them what they like, things like video games.  But as Carr-Chellman says, “video games are not the cause they are the symptom.”  Consider watching this talk if you’ve got boys:

In the TED Talk Carr-Chellman cites a study that shows the negative implications for boys in school:

  • for every 100 girls that are suspended from school, there are 250 boys suspended
  • for every 100 girls in special education, there are 217 boys in special education
  • for every 100 girls with emotional disturbances, there are 324 boys with emotional disturbances

These are disturbing numbers.  One solution that may help is to ease up on Zero Tolerance toward the kinds of play that boys like. Of course that doesn’t mean allowing bullying or violence, but it does mean letting boys be boys.

Do You Understand Boy Culture?

It was amazing how many kids did some yoga right in the middle of our booth.  We loved it because they demonstrated how much kids get inspired by the right tools.
Yoga for Boys – give them a challenge!

Consider what it means to be proactive with boys. If you’ve never had brothers, sons, or taught boys, you may not know what typical play is like for boys.   If two boys are wrestling on the ground, it doesn’t mean they are violent prone or need to see a psychologist.  It means that many boys like to wrestle.  If a teacher tells them they are wrong or “NOT OKAY” for wrestling at recess, they are insulting boy culture, perhaps without realizing it.  Schools support the way girls play and punish the way boys play.

Similarly, if we don’t acknowledge the female dominated culture of yoga, we may be alienating boys without even realizing it.  Boys may walk away thinking what they like is wrong.  They may walk away thinking yoga is for girls.

Tools to Get Boys Involved
Here are some ideas to help boys fall in love with yoga:

  • incorporate tools like partner yoga without micro-managing the poses,
  • use props like the Yoga Man – Yoga for Boys pictures, games, and coloring,
  • invite male teachers to assist you or guest teach,
  • promote Father/Son yoga classes or retreats.

A proactive approach to boys in yoga may help us hear the happy voices of boys exclaiming, “Is that guy doing yoga? Yoga is for boys!”

What do you do in your classes to encourage boys?

“Yoga Man vs The Stressor is so much more than just a yoga guide. The impressive fun filled games teach the children important life tools while learning fun yoga poses. These fun games will help your kids/students get in touch with what stresses them out and how to keep their stress under control.”
Intentional Conscious Parenting.com
Yoga Man product review February 21, 2011

Upcoming Kids Yoga Teacher Training

The Inclusive Yoga Weekend Certificate includes tools that help boys love yoga.  You’ll also get lots of information on Yoga for Children with Special Needs. Get more information here.

Inclusive Yoga Certificate Kids Yoga Teacher Training

 

Filed Under: Character Development, Kids Yoga, Lesson Plans Tagged With: classroom management, Kids Yoga, partner yoga, schools, yoga for boys

Yoga for Boys Preview and Upcoming Events

Here’s the inside scoop on some upcoming Young Yoga Masters events including a sneak peak of the new pictures for Yoga for Boys:  Yoga Man vs. The Stressor project.   The April Kids Yoga Teacher Training is almost half full, so if you’ve been thinking of registering – do it soon.  Plus, I’ll be at a booth at the Yoga Show and Conference in Toronto at the end of March.

Here’s what’s happening:

Yoga Man Coloring Book

Yoga Man Teacher's Version
Yoga Man Teacher’s Version

Yoga for Boys: Yoga Man vs.  The Stressor

You may have noticed the link on the blue tool bar on my blog that says “On-line Teaching Tools.”    Since there are so few Yoga for Boys tools, I began working with some boys to create Yoga Man vs. The Stressor.

Now, it’s very close to being ready, I want to get it done by the Yoga Show (March 26).  All three pictures in this blog post are a sneak peak of some of the picture included.  They’ll be much more, but I’ll wait till its ready to give you the full details.

I welcome your comments on it.

Boys doing Yoga
Yoga for Boys

Kids Yoga Teacher Training:  Friday April 30 – Sunday May 2

The next weekend Training is starting to fill up.  The training is kept small (maximum 20 students) and right now, it’s almost half full.  If you would like to join us for this inspiring weekend, register soon before it fills up.  For full details click here.

Kundalini Yoga at the Toronto Yoga Show (booth 913)

I’ll be at the Kundalini Yoga booth on Saturday March 27 from  3 -5 pm and Sunday March 28 from 4 – 6 pm  at the Toronto Yoga Show and Conference.

If you’re going, stop by to say hello to me or come by at any time to pick up your free sample of Yogi tea.  We’re at booth 913.

If I don’t see you there, let me know if you have any questions about any of these events.

Filed Under: Kids Yoga, Teacher Training Tagged With: coloring, kids yoga teacher training, yoga for boys, yoga show

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